title: Energy balance in adolescent girls: the trial of activity for adolescent girls cohort.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study correlates of change in BMI percentile and body fat among adolescent girls.
  
  
  METHODS
  A longitudinal prospective study following 265 girls from the Trial of Activity for Adolescent Girls (TAAG) cohort measured in 8th grade and during 10 and 11th grade or 11th and 12th grade. Twice during 2009-2011 girls wore an accelerometer and completed a food frequency questionnaire and 7-day diary documenting trips and food eaten away from home and school. Physical activity, BMI, and percent body fat were objectively measured at each time point.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) declined, but the change was not independently associated with changes in BMI percentile. Increased vigorous physical activity was associated with reductions in body fat. Diet was associated with both changes in BMI percentile and body fat. Girls who increased the percentage of caloric intake from snacks and desserts reduced their BMI percentile and body fat.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Some relationships between energy balance behaviors and BMI and body composition were counter-intuitive. While it is plausible that vigorous physical activity would result in reductions of body fat, until more accurate methods are devised to measure diet, the precise contribution of dietary composition to health will be difficult to assess.
authors.affiliation: RAND Corporation, Health Santa Monica, California, USA.
authors.forename: Deborah A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.forename: Bonnie
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ghosh-Dastidar
authors.forename: Terry L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Conway
authors.forename: Kelly R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Evenson
authors.forename: Daniel A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Rodriguez
authors.forename: Robin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Beckman
authors.forename: John P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Elder
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pickrel
authors.forename: Leslie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lytle
mesh_terms: D061725:Accelerometry; D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000378:metabolism; D000293:Adolescent; D001823:Body Composition; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004032:Diet; D015930:Diet Records; D002149:Energy Intake; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D009043:Motor Activity; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires